Automatic bell-ringer.



' 1 A. w. QUICK. AUTOMATIC BELL BINGBB.

. APPLICATION TILED JULY 81, 1908.

Patented-May 23, 41911.

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ARCHIE W. QUICK, 0F ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC BELLRING-ER. f

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 31, 1908.

Patented May 23, 1911.

serial No. 44e 319.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARCHLE W. QUICK, of Allentown, in the `county ofLehigh and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Automatic Bell-Ringers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

As heretofore constructed automatic bell ringers have not been providedwith adequate means for insuring a rapid ringing of the bell and at thesame time preventing the bell making a complete rotation upon itstrunnions. When this latter action occurs the rapid movement of thebell, and the consequent centrifugal force, cause the clapper to swingwith the bell instead of contacting with it, with the result thatlittle, if any, sound is produced. When the device is intended foroperating railway locomotive bells this difliculty is increased by thefact that the bell rope, which is usually maintained in the event of itsuse being desired for ringing the bell independently of the engine,becomes entangled or wound around the axis of the bell. Efforts havebeen made to quicken the bell action and yet prevent its completerotation by regulating the thrust of the piston. This has beenaccomplished by adjusting the valves to control the sup ply of motiveiluid to the engine according to the weight of the bell. This form ofregulation meets the requirements when the motive fluid remains atconstant pressure, but, as is well known, the pressure varies greatly inrailway locomotives.

The importance of effecting a rapid ringing will be appreciated bycomparing the number of bell strokes per minute with the distancetraveled by the engine in that period of time. If for instance the bellrang only fifteen times while the engine was traveling a mile thereAwould vbe only one stroke to every 352 feet of travel. Obviously thiswould fail to meet the requirements of fast trains when approachingcrossings.

The primary object of my invention is to provide simple and highlyefficient means by which the swing ol the bell crank by the thrust ofthe piston will be arrested before it has caused a complete turn of thebell and' which retarding means will eii'ectively aid in quicklyreturning the bell.

Broadly stated, my invention comprehends a yielding connection betweenthe piston rod and the bell crank normally forming part of the actuatingmechanism whereby the piston in its reciprocation positively moves thebell crank, but reaches the limit of its travel well in advance of thebell crank completin a half turn, the balance of movement o the bellcrank after the piston has stopped being against the resistance ofspring tension which prevents the complete turn of the crank and exertsits force to return the bell.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved form ofengine adapted to the ringing of a bell, having special reference to themanner in which the motive fluid is conducted to and exhausted from thecylinder, and also to the relative arrangements of the piston and valveand the manner of assemblin the parts and securing the engine to thebell frame.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l shows a bell equipped with anautomatic ringer embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged verticalsectional view of the engine and its connections to the bell crank,showing the positions of the valve and piston when the bell crank is ator near its lowest position. Fig. 3 is a partial elevation and verticalsection showing the positions of the parts when the bell. crank hasreached the upward limit of its movement. Fig. i is a plan view of thewasher.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates a bell of the form used onrailway locomotives, mounted to swing in a frame 2 through the medium ofa rope 3 or by power transmitted to the crank arm 4 for theaccomplishment of the purpose automatically. I have shown t-he engine 5mounted upon the lateral projection of a bracket 6 rigidly secured tothe frame 2. By this means the engine may rest upon liners placed uponthe bracket and thus be adjusted at the proper height to insure thethrust of the piston ringing the bell. `This has been found oit'advantage as compared with the usual manner of securinoF the enginedirectly to the bell frame Iiy bolts, which necessitated adjusting thelength of the connecting rod to insure the ringmg of the bell.

The cylinder 7 of the engine is provided with an inlet port 8 for theintroduction of motive fluid and with a duct or passage 9 fluid has itsintake and exhaust to and from` extending; through the wall to thebottom. A cap 10 is shown bolted to the top of the cylinder and thelatter is provided with a stop 12 to limit the downward movement of thevalve 18, and with exhaust ports 14.

15 designates the piston movable within the cylinder 7 and reduced indiameter at its central portion, forming shoulders 16 and 16a toengagethe valve 13 in its movement, the valve encircling the pist-on andhaving an annular groove or channel 17. A washer 18,l (shown in detailin Fig. il) surrounds the piston and rests upon the valve and ispreferably of U'-shape to permit of ready insertion and removal. Thus itwill be noted that the valvey 13 is in advance of the piston and whenthe parts are at rest, as shown in Fig. 2, the valve is supported bystop 12 and its groove or channel 17 registers with inlet port 8 andwith passage 9 so that when the operator admits the motive fluid t-helatter will flow to the bottom of the cylinder and raise the piston. Inits upward movement the piston contacts with the valve by its .shoulder16 and raises the valve until'the piston has reached the upward limit ofits stroke, when the parts will assume the positions shown in Fig. 3.The valve has now been arrested by washer 18 and cap 10 and has passedsufficiently far to carry its groove out of alinement with passage 9thus cutting off the motive Huid supply. In'this movement and after thevalve has passed beyond passage 9, the passage is open to the spacewithin the cylinder surrounding the reduced portion of the piston andthrough this space to the atmosphere through the ports 14E. Thus thesteam or other motive the cylinder through the passage 9. In the returnof the piston its shoulder 1Ga acts on washer 18 and lowers the valve.

I have shown the piston rod 19 secured to the piston by a pin 20 andextending into a sleeve 21 and in cont-act with a ca 22 screwed ontot-he upper end of the sleeve, the cap being bored and tapped to receivea post 23 on a thimble 211 loose upon the crank pin 25 of the crank arm4. The sleeve 21 contains a spring 26 coiled therein and encircling thepiston rod, the spring being held within the sleeve by a cap 27 throughwhichthe rod moves freely. A collar 28 is shown on the free end of therod and a jam nut 29 secures the post 23 to the cap 22. The operation ofthe parts forming this yielding connection between the engine and thebell crank is that when in the positions shown in Fig. 2 with the crankarm slightly off the center the upward stroke of the piston causes therod 19 to positively elevate the crank arm sufficiently to sound thebell. IVhen the piston has traveled its full stroke, the crank arm andsleeve, as well as their intermediate connections, are

free to move farther upwardly. Before the crank arm has complet-ed ahalf turn, however, the spring 2G will contact with collar 2S carried bythe rod and its compression will retard the movement of the crank arm,(see Fig. 3) stopping it entirely and tending to reverse it before thefull turn has been. completed. As the spring acting on cap 27 of thesleeve draws the crank arm down, the part 22 will contact with rod 19and lower the piston.

It is to be noted that the spring performs the functions of retardingthe movement of the crank arm and compensating for variations in theweight of the bell. Its force normally combines with the weight ofA thebell in tending to return the crank arm thus insuring the properlimitation of the arc described by the bell in its movement. Also itwill be seen that the limiting lmeans is wholly independent of the valveaction in that the controlof the crank in no way depends upon thecontrol of the motive fluid supply to the engine. In fact the onlyeffect upon the engine created by the limiting means is that the pistonis relieved of the strain which would be consequent upon having the bellcrank stopped in its movement and returned by direct connection to thepiston rod. n

In actual test a bell ringer embodying my invention was set inoperation-upon a train traveling a mile per minute.`V There were 15strokes of the lbell in that period of time or one to every 117 feet oftravel. This is ample compliance with the law regarding. signals forcrossings, 85o.

A feature characterizing the engine I have illustrated is the readinesswith which the parts may be assembled. With cap 10 removed the piston isplaced within the cylinder. The valve 13 is in one piece and its centralaperture is sufficiently large to permit of its being slipped over theupper part of the piston, after'which the slotted washer 1S may beplaced upon the' valve andthe cap put on the cylinder.

It is apparent that my inventionr permits of variations in themechanical mea-ns employed for attaining its purpose.

I claim as my invention 1.V In an automatic bell ringer, an enginehaving a cylinder closed at its 'lower end, provided with an admissionport and av passage extending to its lower extremity constituting aninlet and outlet for the operating pressure, a piston in said cylinder,and means for admitting and exhausting pressure through said passage.v

2. In an automatic bell ringer, an engine having a cylinder closed atits lower end, provided with an admission port and a passage extendingto its lower extremity constituting an inlet and outlet for theoperating pressure, a piston valve' encircling the iis piston andadapted to alternately admit and release pressure to and from theunderside of the piston.

3. In an automatic bell ringer, an engine having a fixed cylinder closedat its lower end, provided with an admission port and a passageextending` to its lower extremity constituting an inlet and outlet forthe operating pressure, and supplementary port holes leading to theatmosphere, a piston in said cylinder, and a piston valve encircling thepiston and adapted to alternately admit and release pressure from theunder side of the piston.

4. In an automatic bell ringer, the combination with the engine having acylinder closed at its lower end and provided with ARCHIE W. QUICK.'Witnesses:

H. L. SANDI-IAS, FRANCIS Een.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

